GCC Foundation to kick off annual campaign next week

GREENFIELD — The Greenfield Community College Foundation will kick off its annual campaign next week and is aiming to raise $825,000 this year for college programs and scholarships.

The fundraising effort will run from March 13 to May 31. Last year’s drive brought in $954,330, although about $150,000 of that came from two major gifts made at the very end of the campaign, said Executive Director Regina Curtis.

While the large majority of donations come from within Franklin County, Curtis said that volunteers will increase their focus on other areas where GCC students live. Fundraising events are being planned throughout western Massachusetts and in southern Vermont.

About 25 percent of the school’s students live in Hampshire County, but donors there have historically contributed about 8 percent of the campaign’s total donations, said Curtis. And the area surrounding Brattleboro, Vt., where about 10 percent of GCC students live, accounts for an even smaller slice of the pie, she said.

Joseph Ruggeri, owner of Ruggeri Real Estate, will serve as co-chair of the campaign for the second year. Richard Fahey, the former advertising director for The Recorder, will also serve in the co-chair post, for his first time.

Michael and Chia Collins, founders of the Turners Falls vegetarian and vegan food company Lightlife Foods, will serve as this year’s honorary chairs.